Week of action on campuses!

October 26, 2016

It’s Fair Employment Week!
Right now, college and university faculty are campaigning to put decent work back on the agenda at post-secondary institutions across Canada and Quebec. Take a moment to pledge your support at WeTeachOntario.ca. To share on Facebook click here.

Too many faculty are working on short, partial-term contracts where they face job insecurity, unpredictable scheduling, unfair wages and inadequate access to basic benefits. Left unchecked, these conditions undermine the quality of teaching and compromise students’ educational experiences.

At universities, the number of contract faculty has doubled since 2000, and within our colleges, more than half of all teaching is now performed by contract faculty.

The Changing Workplaces Review gives us an opportunity to address many of these issues. That’s why OCUFA (the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) supports the Fight for $15 and Fairness and why they are highlighting Fairness for Contract Faculty (#Fairness4CF) this week.

An overwhelming majority of Ontarians believe that universities should support strong communities by being model employers who play a leadership role in providing decent work for staff and faculty. You can help make this support visible by joining the social media campaign.

Use the hashtag #Fairness4CF and where possible, connect it with: #15andFairness,#MakeItFair, #CanLab, #CdnPSE and #OnPoli. Please also tag @OCUFA. Here are some sample tweets:

OCTOBER 27, Thursday

University of Windsor10:00 am to 1:00 pm – Hosted by Fight for $15 Windsor-Essex
Join us at the University of Windsor CAW Students’ Centre – 401 Sunset Avenue to show support for contract faculty on campus and across the province. Let’s work together to ensure that all academic jobs are good jobs. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

NOVEMBER 2, Wednesday

Canadian Federation of Students Pan-Canadian Day of Action

TORONTO:
Join the Fight for $15 & Fairness contingent at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall at 1:00 pm. To RSVP and share on Facebook click here.

OCTOBER 29, Saturday

Toronto Students’ Decent Work & Health Advocacy 101

12 Noon to 5:00 pm – hosted by the Decent Work and Health Network
This Toronto session is geared towards students in the health sector. We will explore the ways that employment and housing impact health, and how we can advocate for better outcomes. Register by emailing: info@decentworkandhealh.org. To RSVP and share on Facebook click here.

Faith and the Fight for $15 & Fairness

Faith Leaders across Ontario have come together to sign a statement supporting decent work. Help us spread this message far and wide. Please invite Faith Leaders in your community, or on your campus, to sign on. Here’s a snippet from the statement:

“… In a wealthy country like Canada, no person should be living in poverty. Decent work must be a core aspect of Ontario’s anti-poverty agenda, along with other measures to ensure
that all of us live in dignity.”

Momentum

Quebec is with us in the Fight for $15 and Fairness
On October 15, over 15 hundred people demonstrated in Quebec under the 5-10-15 banner which, similar to the Fight for $15 and Fairness, calls on the Quebec government to implement at least five (5) days notice for scheduling, at least ten (10) paid sick days and a $15 minimum wage for all workers. Read the CBC report here.

Two-thirds (63%) of us across Canada support a $15 Minimum Wage
Notwithstanding the minority opposition expressed by the CIBC-funded academic Morley Gunderson, rich people with incomes over $100K and $250K, and other corporate lobbyists, a clear majroity Canadians support a $15 minimum wage: “The Forum Research poll … showed that 63 per cent of Canadian voters approve increasing the national wage to $15 an hour. … The minimum wage increase had more supporters than detractors in every region of the country. … In every age and income bracket … the idea has majority support.” To read the full report from Forum Research, click here.

DECEMBER 3, Saturday

SAVE THE DATE: Solidarity with Retail Workers – Holiday Action

Let’s raise our voices in song this holiday season to celebrate all the workers who make our holiday season festive! From farm workers to grocery store workers and from the shopping centres to the LCBO, we simply couldn’t eat, drink, or be merry, without the hard work of these amazing people. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.